


Learning the Art of Reincarnation

by Midorisakura (Calacious)



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Community: cottoncandy_bingo, Community: trope_bingo, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Missing Persons, Mutually Unrequited, Oblivous Danny, Supernatural Elements, Trope Bingo Round 3, cat!fic, cheesy ending, concepts of reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-04 21:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1793659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Midorisakura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny doesn't like cats, but he can't say no when Grace asks him to take care of an injured feline. Chin thought that he was done with revisiting his past, but, it turns out that the past is back to haunt him, and Danny is his only hope for redemption.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Absolutely Not

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kuchyan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuchyan/gifts).



> Hawaii Five-0 is not mine, nor are any of the characters, and I'm not writing this for profit (honestly, I doubt that someone would pay for this). No offense is meant either. 
> 
> This idea came to me while I was chatting with a friend who just so happens to ship Danny and Chin as well. It is a crazy plot, and became far more serious than what I thought it'd be. Having said that, do not take this overly seriously, and please forgive any errors that you find within it (grammar or otherwise). Mahalo!
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading - let me know...thanks.

Grace frowned at her father, and grasped the wriggling bundle closer to her chest. She squared her jaw, and stood her ground. “Danno, we have to help it. It’s injured.”

It was the trembling lower lip, combined with the plaintive tone, which had Danny uncrossing his arms and internally groaning. He caved. “Fine, but we’re taking it straight to the Humane Society.”

Grace sighed and tilted her head to the side, rearranging the feline in her arms – which was wrapped in a towel – and giving it a slight smile, before turning a less than happy look at her father. “But, Danno…we have to make sure it’s alright first.”

“Grace, honey, I love that you’ve got a good, kind heart, but…” Danny lifted his hands as he spoke, and he fashioned a heart between them, let his hands fall down to his sides when his daughter sighed again. “Honey, it could have diseases. I – ”

“Danno, it’s shivering, and I think its paw might be broken.” Grace completely ignored her father. She closed the gap between them, and shoved the small, furry bundle up into his face. “See, he’s in pain, Danno.”

Danny didn’t want to look at the creature his daughter had – even after he’d told her explicitly not to – picked up off the side of the trail they’d been walking along. It was an easy, almost meandering walk, unlike the hikes that Steve often took them on that had Danny’s knee twitching, and his lungs burning by the end of the hike.

Danny had, mistakenly, thought that this was going to be a nice, trouble-free walk. He should have known that things wouldn’t go the way that he’d planned.  Should’ve known that they’d go south, because the sun was shining, there was a nice, gentle breeze blowing, and it was a truly beautiful day.

On a whim, or so it had seemed at the time, Kono had invited Danny and Grace to join her and Chin for an afternoon at Waimea Falls. She’d walked ahead of Danny and Grace in search of her wayward cousin who was supposed to meet them a half an hour ago. Chin was a no-show, and now Danny had the sinking feeling that he was going to become a new pet parent if the full-on puppy dog look on his daughter’s face was anything to go by.

“Danno,” Grace said on a sigh.                                                                                                       

She jiggled the cat in front of his face, and Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt the pressure of a headache starting to form behind his eyes. It might have started off as a bright, sunshiny day, but it was quickly becoming a day that was slowly descending into a hellish nightmare.

Danny glanced down at the cat Grace had picked up, in spite of his admonitions for her not to touch it. She’d at least used one of the towels they’d brought along – visitors were allowed to swim at the base of the waterfall, as well as to jump from the top of the waterfall (something which Grace was _not_ going to do – no amount of pleading, or puppy dog eyes, or trembling bottom lips would sway him) – to wrap the cat in.

At first glance, all that Danny could see were the cat’s dark, brown eyes, which were, if he knew anything about cats (and he really didn’t) a bit unusual. They seemed to draw him in, almost like he was looking into the very soul of the cat, and it was _begging_ him to take care of it. Danny had to blink, and take a step away.

“Danno?” Grace’s voice was soft, uncertain. “What’s wrong?”

Danny shook his head, trying to clear it of the image of the cat’s odd eyes. “Nothing, monkey. It’s okay. Why don’t you give the cat to me, monkey?”

Danny wiggled his fingers, and tried to smile at his daughter, to reassure her that things really were okay, though there was a sense of dread beginning to fill the pit of his stomach. There was something very wrong, but Danny couldn’t pinpoint what it was. His skin tingled, and he knew in his gut that there was a mystery to be solved, and his precious little girl was holding it in her arms.

 


	2. Go to Danny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a beautiful day - the sun is shining, there's a gentle breeze in the air, and Chin gets to hang out with Danny, Grace and Kono. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, Chin probably wouldn't be this stupid, but we all make mistakes, and misjudge situations, and wind up in a world of hurt for it. I do think there is precedence for this type of behavior on the show as well.
> 
> Please forgive me for any errors (grammatical or otherwise).
> 
> Thanks so very much for all of the support! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter as well. Mahalo

Chin looked at his watch for what must’ve been the hundredth time in the past half an hour. He didn’t understand why his cousin had changed the time of their meet, and he thumbed his phone on to look at the text once again. It was short, and succinct, the reason for the change in time and meeting place unclear.

_Could be a setup,_ he thought, but he shrugged off that thought as soon as it had come. It was Saturday, and Five-0 wasn’t working a case. As a matter-of-fact, they’d just put a case to bed last week, and there was nothing lingering over their heads.

After the week that they’d had, Chin was looking forward to getting together with Kono, Danny and Grace. It wasn’t often that they got together, just the four of them, outside of work, and Chin had a niggling suspicion that his cousin was orchestrating something a little more than just a simple get-together.

_“Relax, cuz’,” Kono had said when he’d questioned her about it earlier that week. She’d elbowed him in the ribs, and punched him in the arm, grinning widely when he winced and rubbed at his aching side. She had a remarkably knobby elbow._

_“I ain’t got nothin’ up my sleeve,” Kono’d said, and she’d held her arms up, making a big deal of looking down each sleeve, and showing them to Chin. He’d rolled his eyes._

_“Promise. Besides, with Steve out of town with his S.E.A.L. buddies, it’s a perfect opportunity for us mice to play.” She’d grinned impishly and then had waved at Danny who’d by chance looked up from his computer at that moment. The detective had returned her wave with a wary smile and a wave of his own, and had exchanged a look, and an eye-roll with Chin before returning to his work._

Chin checked his watch one last time, and then frowned. He was standing at the foot of the secondary path – the one that led visitors up and around the primary path to the falls. It had little alcoves that featured peeks into Hawaii’s past – hales with thatch roofs, tools and machinery fashioned out of stone. He checked his phone, hoping that his cousin had left a message explaining their tardiness.  

There was no message. Chin was starting to worry. They were late for their earlier rendezvous, as indicated by Kono’s most recent missive, by almost ten minutes. That wasn’t like Kono, and it was definitely not like Danny who never measured appointments by the more forgiving, and varied ‘Hawaiian’ timeframe.

Chin barely had time to register the prickle along the back of his neck as he sensed that something was wrong, before a shadow separated itself from that of the trees that surrounded him, and morphed into a human being holding a knife. Chin took a step back and instinctively reached toward his side, where he normally kept his gun. It wasn’t there.

“Remember me, Officer Kelly?” the shadow asked. The tone wasn’t menacing, if anything, it was almost lighthearted, conversational.

Chin narrowed his eyes. The man’s face was in shadow, and his voice was little more than a harsh whisper. It was impossible for Chin to make out who the man was, but there was no mistaking that his intent was malicious.

The man took a step toward Chin, and shadow fell away from his face, revealing a scar that ran from the man’s hairline, near his temple, to a corner of the man’s mouth. It was an ugly scar, one that Chin would never forget for as long as he lived.

It was a scar that Chin had given the man when he’d attempted to save a young woman, Gloria, which the unstable man – Keahu Mahaku – had kidnapped.

As a matter of fact, the knife which Mahaku held on him now was the very knife that Mahaku had held to Gloria’s throat ten years ago, almost to the day. The knife that Chin had managed to wrest away from the serial killer before he could kill Gloria. The knife that, Chin, as he’d attempted to pull it free of Mahaku’s hand, had inadvertently caused to leave the deep scarring on the man’s face.

Chin drew in a sharp breath, and tried to back away from the man that he now recognized, but a tree stopped him. He’d put Mahaku in the hospital, and then his, and Gloria’s testimony had put the man in jail for a very long time.

“Listen, Keahu.” Chin kept his voice light, tried to keep the very real fear hidden. Danny, Kono, and Grace would be here soon, and he didn’t want Mahaku to have any potential victims, other than himself.

“No, you listen, Officer Kelly,” Mahaku growled, and he leaned in close, pressed the edge of his knife against Chin’s thigh.

“I’m going to make you pay for what you did to me,” Mahaku whispered, lips brushing against Chin’s ear as he wrapped a hand around Chin’s throat. “And I’m not just talking about this.” Mahaku shoved the scarred side of his face into Chin’s line of vision, applied pressure to the knife, and drew blood.

“Tell me, do you remember that day?” Mahaku asked. He pressed the knife in deeper, and Chin drew in a sharp breath.

“Yes,” Chin hissed. He was having a hard time breathing. Spots danced across his vision, and he feared that, if Makahu didn’t release his throat soon, he’d lose consciousness.

“Good,” Mahaku said, and he leaned back so that Chin could get a clear look at his face. His mouth was twisted in a rather macabre looking smile, the scar making it look even more twisted and ugly.

“Because, officer, I haven’t stopped thinking about that day. Not a minute has slipped by where I haven’t replayed our little tussle in these very woods. Tell me, was that bitch worth it? Was she worth this?” Mahaku moved the hand he’d held to Chin’s throat to the stunned officer’s mouth, stifling Chin’s gasp, and muffling a startled shout as he twisted the knife into Chin’s thigh, burying it deep into the flesh.

“Was that fucking cunt worth dying for?” Mahaku drove the knife into Chin’s thigh, pulled upward, and Chin screamed, but the hand over his mouth kept the sounds of his scream from traveling anywhere.

He sagged against the tree, his vision dimming. Mahaku’s twisted, scarred face swam in and out of focus as Chin struggled to stay conscious, to shove Mahaku, and the knife he’d used to kill nearly half a dozen women away. It was futile, and Chin’s strength, his life force, was ebbing.

Chin tried to speak beneath the hand, tried to get his mind, which was starting to short circuit and fail him, to work, so that he could form words which would get Mahaku to ease up, to bring him somewhere else. They were off the beaten path, and no one had decided to travel along the steeper trail yet, but Chin knew that it was only a matter of time before someone happened along, and with his body starting to fail him, he wouldn’t be able to keep Mahaku from killing some hapless tourist.

Mahaku pulled the knife free, and Chin nearly sighed in relief. But, with what could only be described as an evil, sadistic glint in his eye, Mahaku pulled the knife back an arm’s length away, and then, with no other warning, other than the smile that twisted his features freakishly, he shoved the knife deep into Chin’s lower abdomen, twisting it with a wicked sounding laugh that seemed to reverberate through Chin’s sluggish brain.

“And, now, Officer Kelly, you die,” Mahaku said.

A couple, talking loudly about how beautiful the place and Hawaii was, stepped off the wide, paved path, dangerously close to where Mahaku and Chin stood, swathed in the shadows. He pressed his body close to Chin’s, as the couple passed, dipping his head, as though they were lovers, hiding what he was really doing from the laughing pair who passed them by without even seeming to notice.

Chin’s eyelids grew heavy, and he barely registered when Mahaku pulled the knife free and readied to stab him again. The sounds of the nearby forest amplified – birds chirping, the rushing water of the falls, smaller vermin moving around in the brush – and for a moment that’s all that Chin could hear.  Mahaku’s ragged breathing, his own heartbeat, were both eclipsed by the sounds of the forest.

_This is it,_ Chin thought, and a peace, unlike anything he’d ever experienced before, stole over him. Malia’s face flashed before him, and her lips moved silently – he couldn’t make out her words, but knew they were meant to be comforting. She was dressed in white, smiling. Light surrounded her like a halo, and Chin could feel her hand, cool, soothing against his cheek.

“Go to Danny, he’ll help you.” Malia’s voice wrapped around him like a blanket, and she kissed him. “They’re almost here, go to them. Grace and Danny. Chin, you must go to them.”

Chin never felt the knife plunge into him for a third time, didn’t notice the flash of light that rent the air around Mahaku and him, striking the two of them. His eyes were focused on Malia, and he reached for her even as she began to fade away, the smile on her face wavering and then simply disappearing altogether.


	3. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chin is missing, Kono and Danny aren't sure where to start looking for answers.

Grace tilted her head, and seemed to be weighing her father’s intentions toward the injured feline before finally taking a step forward and entrusting it to his care. Danny waited, as patiently as he could under the circumstances.

Danny fought the urge to place the injured creature back where Grace had found it, knowing that his daughter would not quickly forgive him for such an act. Instead, he held the cat gingerly, and took a closer look at it.

Barely able to lift its head, the cat mewled pathetically, and something tugged at Danny’s heart. He took a steadying breath, and noted the red splotches that marred the brand new beach towel. The cat’s eyes were filled with pain, and trust, and Danny had to look away, because there was something about them which seemed almost familiar.  

“C’mon, monkey,” Danny said, tucking the injured cat to his chest, and blindly reaching for Grace’s hand. “We’d better find your Auntie Kono and get this guy to a vet.”

“Is he going to be okay, Danno?” Grace’s voice was soft, and she leaned close to her father’s side.

Danny squeezed Grace’s hand reassuringly, his eyes locked on the cat’s. Its fur, matted with blood, was striped – black and white. Its belly, where it wasn’t red with blood, was white. It was, in Danny’s estimation, a good looking animal, for a cat.

“Danny, Grace!” Kono’s voice jarred Danny from his inner musings, and he stepped back onto the main path, tugging Grace with him.

“Kono, where’s Chin?” Danny peered over Kono’s shoulder, and he noticed that Grace, too, was looking for the missing man.

The cat seemed to stir, and, mindful of its injuries, Danny absentmindedly shushed it, almost as he would a hurt, fearful child. Grace stood up on her tiptoes, and ran her fingers soothingly through the cat’s fur.

Kono shook her head and pursed her lips. She held her cell phone up in her hand. “He’s not here, Danny, and he hasn’t texted me to let me know that he’s running late. He hasn’t responded to any of my texts either.”

“Have you tried calling him?” Danny’s gut tightened, and he was suddenly on high alert.

He let go of Grace’s hand and pulled his own phone out of his pocket. Hitting the speed dial for Chin, he pressed the phone to his ear, and ignored the cat as it licked his thumb.

The faint strains of a familiar song drifted over to them from the path Danny and Grace had just left, and Danny’s heart sunk as the theme song to, “The Greatest American Hero,” continued to play unimpeded.

Kono blanched, but she quickly schooled her features, and circled around to Danny’s side, placing herself between Grace and the path where Chin’s phone continued to ring before abruptly cutting off. Danny hit the stop button on his phone without leaving a message, and reclaimed his hold on Grace’s hand. Something was wrong.

Kono went to reach for her gun, before realizing, belatedly, that she didn’t have it. She shared a look with Danny, and then called out to her cousin. “Chin?”

There was no answer, save for the cat moving restlessly in his hold, and Danny spared it a fleeting look, before turning to peer into the small copse of trees. It seemed eerily quiet to Danny.

“I’ll go take a look,” Kono whispered.

Danny didn’t like it, but he nodded. Grace’s hold on his hand tightened and he squeezed back. Kono knelt and pulled something from her boot, and Danny nearly rolled his eyes as he realized that it was a knife. Steve was a terrible influence on the young officer, but right now, he was grateful for it.

“Be careful,” Danny said, and he held his breath, wishing that he had a way that he could contact Steve, because they could really use the S.E.A.L.’s help right about now.

“Danno, is Uncle Chin okay?” Grace’s voice was subdued.

“I hope so,” Danny said, and the cat meowed. It was a long, drawn out sound that raised the hairs on the back of Danny’s neck, and caused him to temporarily turn away from watching Kono’s slow, methodical approach toward the area they’d heard Chin’s ringtone come from.

The cat stared at him, eyes glazed with pain and what appeared to be fear. The cat’s fur was puffed out, indicating danger, and Danny made an executive decision. Handing the cat off to Grace, Danny knelt in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Grace, I need you to take the cat and walk back to the entrance and wait for me there,” Danny said, trusting his gut, the warning bristles of the cat’s fur.

“Grace?” he prodded when the little girl merely blinked at him in response. “Do you understand, honey?”

Grace shuddered and nodded. She clutched the cat closer to herself, and quickly kissed Danny on the cheek. Though her eyes watered, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Yes, Danno. Please be careful, and bring Uncle Chin back safely.”

Danny smiled, and tugged at one of her braids, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Call your mom, sweetheart, okay?”

Grace’s brow furrowed, but she nodded, and she didn’t protest when he spun her around and pushed her in the direction of the entrance, which was nearby. It would only take her a few minutes to reach its relative safety, and Danny’s gut was screaming at him that the real danger lie where Kono had disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

As soon as Grace’s foot touched the short, wooden bridge which would lead her to safety, Danny turned around and followed after Kono. Keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, hoping that the amped up sense of danger that clawed at his gut was nothing, Danny stepped into the copse of woods, and waited for his eyes to adjust to the change in lighting.

“Danny, Chin’s phone is here, and there’s blood, a couple of footprints, but, Danny,” Kono’s voice hitched, and she turned to look at him, her eyes wide with worry. “Danny, he’s not here.”

Kono hadn’t touched the phone which was lying face up, on the leaf-littered ground, smack dab in the middle of a small pool of blood. There were two sets of footsteps, one undeniably Chin’s, the other belonged to someone taller – the shoeprints were a couple of sizes bigger than Chin’s.

Only one set of footprints appeared to be leaving the small copse of woods, heading toward the secondary path, and they weren’t Chin’s, which begged the question, where was their team member? Danny scanned the area around the footprints, but there was nothing, no sign of Chin, other than the cell phone and the disturbing pool of cooling blood.

He peered closer at the ground surrounding the phone, the blood which appeared to be relatively fresh, and frowned. He took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the scene, knowing that he’d need to call in HPD, and a forensics team. That he’d need to step aside and let them run the case for their missing comrade. He didn’t like it. Knew that Kono would like it even less, but it had to be done.

“Kono, we’re going to find him,” Danny promised. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze.

Kono swallowed and nodded. She swiped at her eyes, and Danny pointedly looked away, knowing that she wouldn’t want him to comfort her right now, that she needed him not to see her tears. She didn’t need Danny the father right now, but Daniel Williams, the detective.

It was as they were getting ready to leave, Danny’s hand already on his cell, dialing HPD when he saw it, a glint of flashing light dancing off of metal. He dropped to his knees, heedless of the rough ground, and he pulled Kono down with him, warning her with a finger pressed to his lips, and nodding in the direction of the glinting light.

She caught on quickly; all trace of tears and fear for her cousin gone from her face, nothing but grim determination was left. She nodded, and kept her eye trained on where Danny’d seen the flash of light through the canopy of trees.

Danny felt Kono’s muscles twitch beneath his hold, and he gripped her tighter, not wanting her to go off half-cocked, like Steve. He really didn’t need two impulsive co-workers, and wished that Chin was here, helping to ground his cousin.

Of all of them, Chin was calm, cool and steady. A good man to have by your side in a gun fight. A good man, period. The thought that something bad had happened to him, that he was quite possibly in danger, was something that caused Danny’s gut to twist.

 


	4. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, Chin finds himself chained to Grace in the afterlife, and, clinging to the promises that she makes to the cat she holds so tightly in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who've been reading, and encouraging me in this.
> 
> Hope that this chapter is enjoyed.
> 
> Thank you.

Chin's mind was sluggish, uncooperative, and he felt different somehow. Like he was floating. It was a strange feeling, and he didn't like it one bit. He was in so much pain that it almost didn't matter. He wanted to sleep, wanted to let go of everything and just rest, but Malia's parting words, the way that she'd looked at him, kept him awake in spite of the pain.

It wasn't until he saw Danny that he realized just how different things were. How different he truly was. Danny seemed to tower over him, and Chin was hyper aware of just how blue the man's eyes were, and how strong Danny's arms were when the man held him. How strongly Danny smelled of everything Chin has come to equate with happiness and home – coffee, doughnuts, and spicy aftershave.

He tried to tell Danny, and Grace and Kono that he was right there with them when they tried to call him. Tried to warn them about Mahaku, but they didn't seem to hear him.

It was as he made one last ditch effort to be heard by Danny that he realized the awful truth – that he was dead, and trapped in some sort of middle place. Some place between the physical earth and the spiritual world. A kind of netherworld.

It was disconcerting, and Chin was afraid for his friends, for his family. He was afraid for himself.

"It's going to be alright," Grace was saying, and Chin shook his head, trying to clear it, wondering how long it would take for the afterworld to right itself. How long it would take until he no longer heard the voices of those he loved, no longer saw their concerned looks.

"Danno will find Uncle Chin, and we'll take you to the vet, and…" Grace's voice cracked, and she sniffled, her words trailing off.

Chin wondered if Grace was talking about the feral cat that he'd seen just before Mahaku had attacked him. It had been sleek, almost, but not quite, skin and bones. It had been in the process of stalking a bird at the time, growling low and casting a hateful look in Chin and Mahaku's direction when their loud, erratic movements had startled the bird into flight.

The black and grey striped cat had sat back on its haunches and regarded the men almost coolly. Its tail twitched angrily as it watched them, and it idly licked its paws as it bathed itself. It was clearly both angry at, and bored with, the men.

Chin had forgotten all about the cat when Mahaku's knife bit into his flesh. He'd lost track of everything then – time and space, himself.

He almost laughed as he thought about the showdown that Danny and Grace must've had over the cat. Danny was not a fan of cats, but Chin knew that Grace would be able to talk her father into, not only making sure that the cat was seen to by a vet, but keeping it afterwards.

He'd have liked to have been there, would have liked to have witnessed the stubborn Williams' battling it out over the welfare of a mean, scraggly-looking cat. A sense of déjà-vu as he thought about it made Chin feel a little woozy – Grace plaintively arguing with her father about helping the injured cat, and Danny steadfastly arguing that they needed to take it to the Humane Society; the cat being carefully handed off from one Williams to the other…

Disconcerted, Chin concentrated on trying to figure out how to navigate in the netherworld. He heard Grace's voice again, soft as she spoke to the cat. "Danno doesn't like cats, but he will take real good care of you. He's very good at taking care of everyone."

Chin nodded. Danny was good at taking care of everyone but himself. He sensed that Grace understood that about her father as she peered closely into the cat's eyes –her brown eyes, so like her father's in every way but color, the sharp way with which they regarded everything, how they saw more than what the average person did – and sighed.

"He's just really stubborn sometimes," Grace said.

Chin chuckled in agreement, and his world tilted slightly. Pain flared in his abdomen, and Chin was worried about what the afterlife had waiting for him when he finally got to it.

Grace drew in a sharp breath that ended in a half sob, and Chin felt the hot sting of tears rolling down his back. He smelled the little girl –an odd combination of cocoa butter and strawberries – and was not wholly prepared to hear her cry as though he was right there with her. It was all very strange, and dizzying.

"I'm so sorry, kitty," Grace sobbed. "Please be okay."

It was then that it hit him – he was, for whatever reason, tied to Grace in some way. Maybe Chin was meant to be her guardian angel, to keep her safe while Danny and Kono went after his killer. Maybe, after they found Mahaku, Chin would be allowed to fully enter the afterlife, to be reincarnated, or enter into Nirvana. It was a rallying thought, and Chin struggled to find some way to communicate to Grace, to keep her safe from harm.

"I wish Danno was here," Grace whispered, burying her face into the fur of the cat.

Chin felt warmth settle over him, and some of his pain subsided. He felt at peace, honored to be able to take care of Danny's little girl for him one last time.

Danny had come to mean a lot to Chin over the years, though he'd never admitted as much to the man. There'd been no occasion; really, no words for him to explain what Danny had come to represent in his life.

Danny was vibrant. He lived life out loud and Chin admired that about the often abrasive man, had come to see Danny's prickly nature was much more complicated than what most people saw.

Most people brushed Danny off as brusque and arrogant, never seeing past his loud, often obnoxious exterior, but Chin knew better than that. Understood that Danny hid insecurities and vulnerabilities underneath bluster and verbal gibes. The man used words the way that Steve used weapons – and often times Danny's words cut deeper than a knife ever could.

Chin didn't know when his respect and admiration for Danny had turned into love for the man. It hadn't happened all at once. There'd been no loud trumpet announcement to accompany the soft, gradual fall. It wasn't something that tugged at Chin's gut, or made his stomach fill with butterflies. He wasn't head over heels, or so twisted around that he couldn't think straight.

No, it was a matter-of-fact kind of love. A love that just happened over the course of time, and which most people didn't realize until it was too late.

Every now and then he'd caught a glimpse of Danny lost in some thought, face no longer a mask of the confident, self-assurance that he presented to the world, and Chin's heart would skip a beat, his mouth would go dry, and he'd have to turn away. At the time, Chin hadn't been able to put a name to it, but now, now that he was dead, or dying, he could, and the unfairness of it wasn't lost on him.

It was bitter, and reminiscent of what he'd lost with Malia, because of his stubborn pride. Years that he could have spent with her, if only he'd let her in earlier, not been so bullheaded. Years that had been cut much too short when he'd finally decided to stop shutting her out.

That it was happening all over again, that he was losing out on love when he'd only just begun to realize that he was in love made Chin's gut ache. He didn't want to leave the world like this.

"Danno's going to fix you, and keep you safe," Grace promised the cat, and Chin selfishly claimed that promise for himself as he felt something, not unlike sleep, pull him away from the world, away from Grace.


	5. Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kono and Danny realize that Chin is gone. It's like he vanished into thin air.

"Danny, he's not here." Kono's voice wavered, and her grip on Danny's hand tightened.

They'd made the call to HPD, and had made an initial sweep of the area surrounding Chin's phone, but had found no sign of the man. The only things that they had found were signs of a struggle, and a piece of tattered clothing that Kono was certain was from one of Chin's favorite shirts. Danny remembered it – a soft, blue cotton shirt that had fit Chin well.

The only other print they'd found in the vicinity – other than those of Chin's and his alleged assailant – was a single paw print, which Danny believed belonged to the cat that Grace had found mewling just off the beaten path. It was smack dab – the bloody red paw print – in the middle of the screen of Chin's cell phone. It was almost disturbing, how perfect the single paw print was, as well as it's placement, almost as if the cat had been about to make a phone call.

They were now standing at the entrance, Grace on one side of Danny, holding the bedraggled cat and Kono on the other side, clutching Danny's hand. Waiting while HPD took the lead on looking for their missing teammate.

"Danno," Grace whispered, and she tugged on his hand, repositioned the cat so that Danny could see him clearly.

"It's okay, Danny," Kono said. "You don't need to stay. I'll be fine." She stiffened beside him, drawing her shoulders back stubbornly.

Danny sighed, and shook his head. "Kono, Grace and I aren't going anywhere." He pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"You should get that cat to the vet," Kono said practically.

"The cat will be fine," Danny insisted, ignoring the worried look on his daughter's face, and the fact that the cat appeared to be barely breathing.

"Danny," Kono shrugged his arm off, pushed away and faced him, wrapped her arms around herself. "I'll be fine."

"Rachel's coming to pick up Grace. They'll take the cat to the vet," Danny said, ignoring the disgruntled sound that issued from his daughter's mouth, and the almost imperceptible mewl from the cat.

He didn't want to leave Kono, not like this. Didn't want to leave until every inch of the park had been combed and Chin, or a sign of what had happened to him, had been discovered. He had a bad feeling about Chin, about the blood, and about the fact that it seemed as if the man, and whoever had done this to him, had disappeared into thin air.

The wait for Rachel seemed to take forever, and then, when she did arrive, Danny'd had to promise that, not only would he pick Grace up for the rest of the weekend, once the park had been cleared, but that he'd take responsibility for the cat after it had been brought to the vet. It was at times like this that he wondered how he and Rachel had ever fallen in love in the first place, and how they'd made such a beautiful child together.

"Danny, you didn't have to stay," Kono said for about the millionth time. She had her arms wrapped over her middle, and looked miserable.

Danny pulled her into a hug, and held her until her stiff muscles started to loosen up. "Yes, I did," he said. "I care about Chin. I care about you."

Officer Duke Lukela cleared his throat. "Sorry to intrude," he said. His voice was quiet and his eyes were filled with sympathy.

"You didn't find him, did you?" Kono asked, and Danny tightened his hold on her.

Duke shook his head. "I'm afraid not, but we did find a possible lead." He looked at Danny, and something in the man's eyes made Danny's blood run cold.

"What'd you find, Duke?" Danny asked.

"A single set of prints leading toward the nearby woods. We're following up on it." It was what Duke wasn't saying that had Danny frightened for Chin, for Kono.

"But..." Danny pressed.

"No sign of Officer Kelly, other than the blood, the torn piece of clothing, and his blood-spattered phone," Duke said.

"We've bagged up what little evidence we could find and have sent it off to the lab. We'll let you know as soon as we find anything. You should go home, now," Duke was talking to Kono, but clearly communicating to Danny the importance of getting Kono away from the park. Whatever had happened to Chin, it didn't look good.

Danny's heart sank, and he pulled a now teary-eyed Kono close, hugging her, and turning her away from the park. He didn't want to leave, knew that Kono didn't either, but right now, there was nothing that either of them could do, and standing there, waiting for word on Chin wasn't going to help matters.

"We'll get him back," Danny promised, though in his heart he didn't know if he could keep that promise.

A rush of movement, off to the side of the path they were headed down, caught Danny's attention, and he instinctively pushed Kono behind him. Ignoring her shouted protest, he launched himself at the man who'd come running out of the woods, barely noting that the man was holding a knife, that his clothes were torn and bloodied.

Danny tackled the man, bringing both of them down onto the hard, hot pavement. His knee protesting the way he'd landed on it. He pinned the man down, dimly aware of the shouts and the flurry of movement around him as several officers raced onto the scene.

The man looked up at Danny, his eyes wide and wild. He was breathing hard, and looked terrified, half out of his mind. His face was spattered with blood, and Danny saw that the knife the man held was covered with blood, some of it already drying and flaking off. He slammed the man's hand down onto the pavement, over and over again until his grip on the knife loosened and it clattered to the ground beside them.

Danny knew, knew it in his gut, that it was Chin's blood on the man's face, the man's knife, the man's clothing, and he felt like throwing up, but he held his ground, waited for the officers to let him know that they were in place before he got up, his knee throbbing with the movement. The man didn't fight to get free. His crazy eyes were locked on Danny and he wet his lips.

"It was a ghost," he said. "A ghost took him before I..." The man shook his head, broke his gaze from Danny as he was hauled to his feet and cuffed, the knife carefully bagged as evidence.

"She stole my revenge," the man said, his voice a low growl, and he started fighting the officers. "That bitch ghost took him from me before I was finished carving him up! It's not fair. I waited for ten years. Ten fucking years to get my revenge on Officer Chin Ho Kelly, and that bitch ghost took him away, just like that."

Danny's stomach churned, and he felt anger boil in his veins. When the man opened his mouth to say something else, Danny slammed a fist into it, pulling his arm back to throw another punch at the man. A hand on his elbow stayed him, though, and Danny looked back to find Duke, a sad, yet stern look on his face, and Kono, a hand clapped to her mouth and tears streaming from her eyes.

She shook her head, brushing aside her tears, and suddenly, not even telegraphing her moves, she launched herself at the man, pummeling him with her fists. Danny and Duke pulled her off of the man, but not before she'd gotten several good punches in.

"You sick son-of-a-bitch," Kono said, practically spitting her words. "What did you do to him?"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, and laughed. "Why don't you ask the ghost?"

"Enough!" Duke shouted when Kono moved to attack the man again.

He was cuffed, and had stopped fighting the officers, but he was grinning, his eyes were still wild and crazy looking. He gave Danny the creeps, and Danny shivered.

"Book him," Duke ordered a junior officer, who nodded. "Not one word of this gets out," he said, spearing the officers with a look that Danny knew took years to perfect. "Question him and find out what happened to Officer Kelly."

The officers nodded, and though Danny could hear them murmuring as they carted their prisoner off, he couldn't quite catch their words. His knee ached, and he'd managed to somehow scrape his elbow in the scuffle. It was bleeding and there were bits of black asphalt stuck in it. It didn't hurt yet, but he knew that it would hurt when the adrenaline wore off. His knuckles were bruised as well. He hadn't thought that he'd hit the man all that hard, but apparently he had.

He exchanged a look with Kono, his heart clenching at the look of pain and desperation he saw in her eyes, and he vowed that, if he had to search through the entirety of Hawaii, he'd find Chin and bring him back.


End file.
